Eliza Reed, Daughter of Israel (1), Born Nov
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READ GENEALOGIES Of the Brothers and Sisters AND Families and Descendants OF ISRAEL READ ABNER READ JOHN READ POLLY READ (Hetherington) WILLIAM READ ,voLCOTT READ LEWIS READ NATHANIEL READ v COMPILED BY REV. HENRY MARTYN DODD, A. B .• A. M. CLINTON, NEW YORK Your fathers where are they?-Zech. r: 5 EDITION FIRST Copyright 1912 HENRY MARTYN DODD Clinton, N. Y. PREFACE ~-"~•.. ,-- -•.N compiling this REJ. .D GENEALOGY, I have been ~ actuated in part by my enjoyment of such work, 1 and in part by a desire to do something of value am for the Read family to which my mother belonged, I realize, however, that it is a very incomplete book, for much that was important has passed beyond recovery with the passing away of the older generations and their neglect of family records. If I had had larger means I might, perhaps, by expensive researches have discovered more facts .and made a more perfect record. I have found the written records few and scattered, and not always correct. It has been n-ecessary to depend much on T1·adition; but knowing the uncertainty of such evidence, I have been careful about accepting it unless well verified. I feel sure that the statements of this book can be depended on with reasonable confidence. Some of the kin dred have helped cordially, for ·which I return most hearty thanks. Others have seemed indifferent and unresponsive, and if any such do not find much about their O\vn :families, they certainly ·will not blame me. A second edition, perhaps, may be printed. and then all errors in this corrected and deficiencies supplied. HEXRY ::.\!ARTY~ DODD. CLINTON, Jan .. 1912. ::N'EW YORK. INTRODUCTION DESIRE to know something about ones ancestors seems natural to ~Iankind, and while one is neither A the better nor the worse on account of his Pedigree, yet it seems a desirable thing to preserve family histories in a Genealogy. This is the more necessary for sometimes the disposition of titles and estates depend on the record. The Bible gives us many genealogies, and ,ve know that among the Hebrews, Chinese, Arabians and Oriental nations generally, much attention was, and is, paid to genealogies. In England, Parish Regist·ers of births1 deaths and marriages have been kept for centuries. The early New England Iaws required them to be entered in the Town Clerk's Office, and valuable help has been had, in this book, from that source. In New York, until 1887, no such records were requir,ed, but many families are colleeting and printing their records, which can be found in the various libraries. The Author's Apology~ Though not a Read by name, yet the fact that his mother was one, will be apology enough (if apology be needed), for the effort the author has made to col lect, arrange and preserve these items of the family history of the Reads, to ·whom he belongs through his mother, ,Yho was )Iaria, daughter of '\Villiam Reacl. Female and Collateral Lines. It has been the author's pur pose to give a record of all the families descended from our Read ancestor, both on the male and female lines. And, also, notes on other families with whom they have intermarried, be- 1ieving that these notes would add to the value of the book. 6 INTRODUCTION. Meaning of the Name~ The name Read has been the sub ject of many speculations as to its origin and meaning. One writer says that AschanazJ great-grandson of Noah, was the founder of the family. Another traces it to Rhea, an ancient goddess of the old Greek and Roman mythology, who was the wife of Saturn and mother of Juno, Neptune, and the mighty Jupiter himself. Others think it may denote an occupat-ion, from the Saxon Raed - speech, discourse. Or that it may have been used to denote a resemblance to a certain well known plant. Ried in German denotes a hollow stalk. Some think it has been compounded, ,as in Ethelred, or Reed the Good; Conrad, or Reed the Powerful ; Eldred, or Reed the Elder. The spelling ( and misspelling) appear to have been dictated largely by fancy. We not,e no less than 18, viz: Read, Reed, Reade, Reid, Ried, Ride, Red, Rad, Raad, Rheade, Rheadus, Reda, Rada, Redha, Wrede, Whrede, Wada, Wrada. Reeds of the Old World. The name Read is found in sev eral European countries. We note that in the 15th century in Scotland there was a :famous Robert Reed, or '' Robin of Redds dale'' (Reeds-dale) , whose figure was carved on a high rock as an armor-clad Giant, for his deeds of valor. In the same vale there d,Yelt a powt>rful clan, a branch of which was called Reed augh (Reed-oh). Sir Watter Scott, in his "Fair lVIaid of Perth" refers to them. A Peter Reed was 1..'"Ilighted by Charles V, at the seige of Barbary. His portrait hangs in the council house of St. Giles Church, Edinboro, ·which he endowed with a. fund to haYe the bells rung every day, at 4 in the morning and 8 in the e-i;-ening. Dod 's and Burke's works on English and Scotch Xoble Famili<:.s. give several Reades. with their pedigrees and coats of arms. At the present time (1912) we hear of one Sir Grorge Compton Reade, ·who is a plain American farmer at Howell. )Iichigan, ,Yho claims, ,vith much reason. to be the INTRODUCTION. 7 rightful heir of Shipton Court, a grand old €state m Oxford shire, England. lhe Reads in America are quite a numerous and patriotic tribe. They. were among the early settlers of New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia. As early as 1630, William Reade, born 1605, whom we believe to have been our ancestor, was one of Gov. Bradford's partn,ers in settling the colony of Boston, l\fass. His large family came over in 1635, in the ship '' Assur ance,'' ·which sailed from Gravesend, July 26th, 1635. He set tled at Weymouth, 20 miles south of Boston, on the coast. His brother, John Reade, came in 1643, and settled in Rehoboth, :Mass. In 1630 there also came, to Sal€m, :Mass., a" Col. Read," son of Sir Thomas Cornwall, and grandson of the Lord of Shrope shire. This Col. Reed, and his posterity, were leading m,en in Salem. About the same time another Read family was found in Plymouth. In 1660, John Reed came to Providence, R. I.. In 16:37~ George Read came to Vii:ginia. His great-great-grandson was George "\~ashington, "Father of his country." The Reads can claim Washington for their family record. Joseph Read, probably a relative, was Washington's military secretary, and would, probably, have been President had he lived. He was a man of unusual ability.* George Read of Del aware, was one of the :five men who had the double honor of being a sign-er of the Declaration of Independence and a framer of the Federal Constitution. He lived in fine style at NevYcastle, Del. The Reads of Pennsylvania have furnished some notable *This Joseph Read, born in the North of Ireland, 1741, came with his parents to America. where he received a fine college and profes sional education, and general culture. He was an ardent patriot, and in a variety of very responsible military, civil and diplomatic positions, showed such talents and rendered such invaluable service, that he was counted, in his day, one of the great men of this nation. His moral and religious life was blameless. He died in 1785, while yet in his prime. See Sparks Am. Biog. 8 INTRODUCTION. men in literature and statesmanship. William Read of Woburn, l\Iass., arrived Oct. 6th, 1635. His descendant, James Reed, \Vho lived at Fitz"-Villiam, or Keene, X. H., commanded the 2d Regi ment at Bunker Hill, ,,rhich did heavy fighting, losing 166 killed and wounded. James Reed was later made a Brigadier General by the Provincial Congress. Besides James Reed, there were at Bunker Hill, Jeremiah Reed, and Benjamin Reed, Jr., of Rut land, who was killed Jun€ 17th, 1775. and also William Warrin, killed at the same battle. It is a ~ell authenticated tradition that our Nathaniel Read had one or more uncles at Bunker Hill, and four cousins, two of whom were killed. The military records of New England and of the Continental Army furnish hundreds of names of Reads who served as regular soldiers, sailo1·s, and militia men, many of them several times. They also were active in the old Indian and Colonial Wars. Their descendants are eligible to most of these patriotic societies, if only they can trace their pedigrees back. Reads in America in 1790. The First Federal Census, 1790, shows that ( excepting New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, and part of Virginia, and the, then, Territories) there were in the whole land 1,201 families named Reed, Read, Reade, Reads, Rede, Reede, Reid, Reide, Rhead, Ried. They comprised 6,877 per sons, an average of 5.7+ to the family. One family in every 342 was a Read, and it was, and still is, one of the more num erous families in our land. They were located by states as follows: l\'1aine 51, New Hampshire 57, Vermont 46, Massa chusetts 304, Rhode Island 19, Connecticut 86, New York 88, Pennsylvania. 258. 1Iaryland 71, Virginia (part) 65, ~orth Carolina 105, South Carolina 56. There was one Reed in every 217 persons in :Massachusetts, one every 440 in Connecticut and one in 421 in New Hampshire and one in 292 in Pennsyl vama.